Eggs for the Hunting by Reg Down

Spring is full of life and life is full of eggs, all sorts of eggs: great cosmic eggs and tiny butterfly eggs, salmon eggs and bird eggs, rabbit eggs and special eggs being gilded and painted by two gnomes called Pine Cone and Pepper Pot. They have been told (gossiped, to be correct) that Farmer John’s children, Tom and June, are going to give them special eggs for Easter, and they decide to reciprocate. However, if you are a gnome, a small gnome—even if you are two small gnomes—then the simplest of tasks (such as finding a bird who does not mind giving you a couple of their eggs) can be a problem ... !!!

Woven into the fabric of the book are many tales, myths and legends: Pepper Pot reads the history of King Karnac and the Turning of Time, Madam Two-Pecks tells her chicks how the universe was created from the World Egg, and the Wise Salmon in Running River tells the fingerlings about the great cycle, the Egg of Life. ‘Eggs for the Hunting’ is a spring tale, a wonder tale, affirming the joy, humor and mystery of life.

Reg Down grew up in Canada, Namibia, South Africa and Ireland. After studying architecture for two years at the Architectural Association in London, England, under Keith Critchlow, he encountered the work of Rudolf Steiner. He attended Emerson College in Sussex, doing the foundation year and first year of his eurythmy training. He completed his training in Nurnberg, Germany, under Margarete Proskauer-Unger.

The father of three, he has taught in Waldorf schools in Australia, Canada and the United States for many years. He was on the faculty of Rudolf Steiner College, Sacramento, California from 2000 to 2010. In addition to teaching and performing eurythmy he is the author of Leaving Room for the Angels (AWSNA Press 1995 & 2004) a book on eurythmy and artistic pedagogy, and Color and Gesture ~ the Inner Life of Color (Lightly Press 2007), as well as numerous articles on eurythmy, Waldorf education and anthroposophy. His first children's book, The Tales of Tiptoes Lightly, appeared in 2004, followed by seven further children's titles. His latest work is a novel-length tale for adults: The Fetching of Spring, and a new children's title, Eggs for the Hunting, is scheduled for spring 2012 (or earlier if he gets it together). He lives in Sacramento, California and is currently pursuing writing, puppetry and storytelling.